I’m trying

Every time I go on Facebook or Instagram or walk out my front door, I’m confronted by people who just got engaged, or who have been recently married.

(Full disclosure: I live on a street dubbed “Bridal Row,” so this should not be entirely unexpected. The brides-to-be on the street, however, are not who I was thinking of. I’m more thinking of my own friends and acquaintances and people I follow on the Internet.)

(And no, I’m not just totally bitter. Congratulations, Elise and Jon! Wishing you all the best, Dave and Colleen!)

Anyway. I am not engaged, or married, or in a multi-year-long partnership. (Although I’ve had my dog for over seven years – and multiple boyfriends – now. Bonus points, anyone? No? Ok.) I’m just hanging out over here with my pint of Ben & Jerry’s, jumping on recipes with names like blueberry boy bait.

To be fair, I am dating someone, so all is not (yet) lost. He’s pretty super incredible, and, for some unfathomable reason, puts up with my zombie-like state (sometimes the zoned-out kind, but also sometimes the slow-moving yet aggressive kind, if I’m honest) before my morning latte, my badly singing along with Taylor Swift in the car, and my propensity to leave piles of miscellaneous things around the house.

So occasionally I feel like I should do something to offset him waking up to all the weird things about me one day and deciding to run away. And by do something I mean cook something, obviously. Something that says I can handle not ordering takeout every night. And that I own real metal cutlery (truth), and ceramic dishware (err… I think I own a couple of mismatched plates from Anthropologie that look good in photos for the blog?) A dish that is appropriate of a girl who writes thank you notes and remembers to water the plants. Something worthy of being cooked by the type of person who can (and usually does) fold her own laundry, and who has been known to vacuum (as long as we acknowledge that there’s a reason I bought a home without carpet).

I serve these with the pronouncement “I’m only moderately successful at adulting, but look – I made you ribs!”

Slowcooker Paleo Ribs

These are ridiculously easy. Shh – don’t tell.

Ingredients

500g (just over 1 lb) rack of pork ribs

Spice Rub

1 tsp hot paprika

1/2 tbsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Sauce

3 tomatoes

3 cloves garlic

1/3 cup apple sauce

1/4 yellow onion (my onion was large; you may need to use more if you have a smaller onion. Shoot for about 1/3 to 1/2 a cup of diced onion)

1 tbsp lime juice

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Mix the spice rub ingredients in a small bowl. Pat the ribs dry with a paper towel, and then rub the spice mix on the meaty side of the ribs.

Put the spiced ribs into the slow cooker pot. (Note: I had to cut my rack in half so it would fit.)

Core the tomatoes and cut them into a large dice. Cut the onion into a smaller dice. Press the garlic cloves.

Throw all the sauce ingredients into a mixing bowl. With a fork, smash it all together.

Pour the sauce on top of the ribs. Leave in the slow cooker on low for about 5-6 hours, or until tender.